The joy of flying
THE wordsmith Capt. Meynard Halili gave the title to this paean to the adventurous spirit of the prime mover of the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF). Capt. Joy Roa and his intrepid volunteers are on their 21st year of “A Weekend of Everything That Flies” at Clark, Pampanga, from 9 to 12 February (Thursday to this Sunday).
It almost didn’t happen when the Philippine Air Force command at Clark Air Base served notice in January of new security restrictions that would have required loop-de-loop turns for the fiesta. Fortunately, PIHABF has experience doing the Fiesta at the adjoining Omni Aviation Complex in Clark in 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2013; so,in record time the team broke ground to make deadline and to transfer the venue to Omni.
The Hot Air Balloon fiesta at Clark began 21 years ago, like the raising of the dead. The former Clark Field U.S. Air Base and Pampanga needed to rebound from the disastrous lahar after Mount Pinatubo. That was when Capt. Roa thought of inviting international balloonists to give life to the Pampanga skies and draw the hobbyists and the curious here.
The fiesta has since gone from strength to strength each year, bringing pilots and visitors here and from abroad to make the annual February hot air balloon fiesta one of the biggest tourism draw in the country. The four-day event drew more than 120,000 last year. This year promises to be even bigger, better, higher, faster.
NOT ONLY HOT AIR. Besides the ubiquitous hot air balloons, the fiesta has helicopters, piper Cubs, fixed wing planes, gliders, jet fighters, stunt fliers. There are paragliders and skydivers, (and the daring can buy tickets to experience tandem jumping with professionals).
On the ground, there’re radio-controlled model airplanes, kite flying, hot rod racing, and even pony and camel rides for the kids.
Non-stop action with concert by ABS-CBN artists and foreign artists. Nusa Collins (Samoa), Miss Nilla (New Zealand) duet; Clinton Mann (South Africa), Thabani Gapara (Zimbabwe) and Moises Akoh (Nigeria) rock the bop.
Expect something new. This year a strong contingent from Turkey joins with mega balloons which take in as many as 12 passengers (fast-tracking the queues for riders).
For the shoppers, there’s an array of fine Turkish pottery. And for the really serious, there are the choice carpets that only a Scheherazade could weave with a tale. (No, they aren’t magical flying carpets; but you could sweep your Valentine to the moon with these.)
Mr. Korkmaz Karakaya, after being medically discharged in his early twenties from the Turkish navy, reinvented himself to learn about carpets...and for the next 30 years, carpets became his 24/7 company and passion. He can tell you about the warp and woof and the incredible number of knots that can weave into one square centimeter.
To return the compliment on the cultural exchange, the Amganad Kids Music Ensemble from the Cordilleras perform a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage – the Hudhud chant, a traditional Ifugao song and dance narrative about ancestral heroes, religious beliefs, and the life-nurturing rice cultivation at the famed Banaue Rice Terraces.
There are all-day and all night-long food court for foodies. Not to be missed is The Wild Cup, a coffee corner juxtaposed between the concert stand and the VIP Tent. It serves the rare Civet coffee for P150 cup. A new venture by enterprising Quiel Marcelo who is taking his brand to Germany.
There’s always something for everyone.
On Day One, the telephone rang last call for the bus which would take Capt. Roa and the pilots to that lunch and share another rare cultural exchange with students of the Malabanas elementary school. The Turkish dance ensemble performed and visiting pilots shared their presents with the schoolchildren; and the school dance troupe did the Tinikling, then dared the visitors to traipse between bamboo poles.
On Day Two, 9 February, anticipating our prime mover reaching another milestone, our dinner host Roy Del Rosario of Oasis Hotel led nears and dears, all pilots, artists and volunteers in wishing Capt. Roa many happy returns and singing (advanced) Happy Birthday because, with Joy’s hand at the tiller, we are just getting our second wind! FEEDBACK: